Fires at petrochemical complexes, chemical plants and other facilities handling hazardous substances designated under Japan’s Fire
Service Act have the potential to cause massive damage. In addition to human casualties, such fires can result in the loss of machinery
and equipment, and of raw materials and products, the release of environmentally damaging substances and the suspension of
production and resulting disruption of supply chains. Accordingly, it is vital to extinguish such fires as quickly as possible.

Unlike regular structural fires, chemical fires—notably those involving water-insoluble flammable liquid materials such as gasoline
and water-soluble flammable liquid materials such as alcohol—cannot be extinguished by water alone. For such fires, it is imperative
to blanket burning surfaces with a firefighting foam containing a fire extinguishing agent diluted with fresh water or seawater, which
prevents contact with oxygen while cooling the fire. The foam must coat the burning surface quickly without being broken down by the
heat and be able to suppress fires involving a variety of chemicals.

A firefighting foam with a superior extinguishing performance that has earned it the top share of the Japanese market

DIC’s Response

DIC has developed a firefighting foam with a wide range of applications

Alcohol-resistant gel foam structure

How firefighting foam works

Developed in 1982, MEGAFOAM is Japan’s first aqueous film-forming firefighting foam, an innovative product that leverages DIC’s molecular design and mixing
technologies in the area of fluorochemical surfactants. Surfactants form a thin aqueous film at the interface between two materials with hydrophilic and lipophilic
properties, thereby transforming the material surfaces. Common surfactants include soap and shampoo. Aqueous film-forming surfactants lower surface
tension, making it easier to form films and preventing the foam generated from breaking down. Firefighting foams harnesses this capability.

Since its launch, MEGAFOAM has earned an outstanding reputation for its fire extinguishing capabilities. In addition to being adopted by the Japan Self-
Defense Forces and fire departments, MEGAFOAM is currently in use at numerous airports, facilities handling hazardous substances, tunnels, underground
parking lots and other facilities. Owing to the revision of pertinent legislation, corporate sites and areas with floating roof storage tanks the diameter of which
exceed 34 meters are obliged to install large-capacity foam monitor systems. As a consequence, the use of firefighting foam systems by industrial complexes
and fire departments across the country has expanded rapidly. MEGAFOAM is currently the leading firefighting foam in Japan in terms of market share.

Unlike fires involving gasoline and other
water-insoluble flammable liquid materials,
fires involving water-soluble flammable
liquid materials such as alcohol, ketones,
esters and amines are extremely difficult
to put out because firefighting foam reacts
with water and dissolves. In the mid-1980s,
DIC capitalized on its polymer gel formation
technologies to develop a robust foam
structure. This led to the commercialization of
an alcohol-resistant version of MEGAFOAM.
As it is also effective in extinguishing fires
involving gasoline, oil and other waterinsoluble
flammable liquid materials, this
version of MEGAFOAM is particularly prized
by fire departments, which often must deal
with fires involving unspecified materials.

With firefighting foam, you can alter expansion and choose a foam shower, nozzle
or other discharge format according to the nature of the fire to be extinguished.
In addition to its superior fire extinguishing performance, MEGAFOAM has
garnered praise for its manageability and suitability for diverse applications,
both attributable to foam generating capabilities that reflect our high-precision
polymer design and mixing technologies.

A late entrant into the firefighting foam market, DIC took a different approach
to market development than existing players. This included collaborating with
fire extinguishing equipment manufacturers and focusing on ease of use at fire
sites. MEGAFOAM’s performance has been proven in various fires and its use at
industrial complexes, airports, tunnels and other facilities continues to expand.
Our proprietary fluorochemical surfactant technologies are also attracting
considerable attention from firefighting foam manufacturers overseas.